Short Film: Tiny Tape Recorder

"Tiny Tape Recorder" directed by Paavo Hanninen

"The Tiny Tape Recorder" is the story of Herman, a man who, in the wake of a  bitter divorce, discovers what appears to be a tape recorder in his head.  When he begins to experience new, intense hallucinations of his own past, he must confront the emotional and physical pain of both past and present. Upon discovering that he may be at the center of a vast web of conspiracy, Herman must come to terms withhimself in order to live fully in the present.

The film's grainy shots and distortions match its subject matter very well to create a surreal viewing experience.

"When I wrote this film, the idea that the government actually listened to and recorded average American citizens seemed absurd and conspiratorial–an interesting thought experiment that would be fantastic fodder for speculative fiction. I wrote this film long before Edward Snowden and the many revelations about the NSA’s surveillance programs. But I was interested in the idea that if that kind of conspiracy actually existed, what could one glean about a person from all that data? If an individual could see the particular events and data points from their life, could they make out a pattern and perhaps see themselves in a new light? I wanted to present these big ideas in a small, intimate package, letting the unseen bureaucratic machinations of a shadowy governmental agency remain off-camera and deal with one person and one set of personal issues." 

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